The Prom at the Palace was a British classical music concert held in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

in 2002. The event was in commemoration of the Golden Jubliee of

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

. It was held at Buckingham Palace Garden on 1 June 2002 forming part of the

Golden Jubilee Weekend The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...

. It was the classical equivalent of the

Party at the Palace The Party at the Palace was a British pop/rock music concert held at Buckingham Palace Garden in London on 3 June 2002. The event was in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II held over the Golden Jubilee Weekend. It was the ...

, a pop/rock music event. Its name reflects the popular season of classical concerts held at the

Royal Albert Hall The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall on the northern edge of South Kensington, London. One of the UK's most treasured and distinctive buildings, it is held in trust for the nation and managed by a registered charity which receives no govern ...

The Proms The BBC Proms or Proms, formally named the Henry Wood Promenade Concerts Presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hal ...

. The event was broadcast by the BBC and shown in more than 40 countries. It was directed by Nicholas Kenyon.

Event and venue

The concert was held in Buckingham Palace Garden as part of the

Golden Jubilee A golden jubilee marks a 50th anniversary. It variously is applied to people, events, and nations. Bangladesh In Bangladesh, golden jubilee refers the 50th anniversary year of the separation from Pakistan and is called in Bengali ''"সু� ...

. The event was touted as the greatest classical concert in Britain in many years in part due to the quality of performers on a single stage. Tickets were determined by a lottery and 3,000 telephones lines were set up to deal with the calls from applicants. Around two million applications were submitted to attend either the

Party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often featu ...

or the Prom at the Palace. Twelve thousand people attended the latter, including 125 guests in the royal box among which were eighteen members of the royal family. This was the first time that the Queen had ever opened the garden up to the public and heralded similar celebrations, both during the Golden Jubilee Year of 2002 and in 2006 for her 80th Birthday celebrations, which included a party for fellow octogenarians and a Children's Prom at the Palace).

Performers

Orchestras at the Prom included HM Royal Marines Portsmouth, the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

and the

BBC Symphony Chorus The BBC Symphony Chorus is a British amateur chorus based in London. It is the dedicated chorus for the BBC Symphony Orchestra, though it performs with other national and international orchestras. Brief history Background In its early years, th ...

, the London Adventist Chorale. Compere

Michael Parkinson Sir Michael Parkinson (born 28 March 1935) is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his television talk show '' Parkinson'' from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007, as well as other talk shows and programmes both in the U ...

asked the audience to stand as the Queen, wearing a lime green suit, entered the Royal Box with the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...

and took her place with the British Royal Family. Individual performers included

Dame Kiri Te Kanawa Dame Kiri Jeanette Claire Te Kanawa , (; born Claire Mary Teresa Rawstron, 6 March 1944) is a retired New Zealand opera singer. She had a full lyric soprano voice, which has been described as "mellow yet vibrant, warm, ample and unforced". Te ...

, Julian Bliss, Ashley Wass, Zenaida Yanowsky, Roberto Bolle,

Angela Gheorghiu Angela Gheorghiu (; ; born 7 September 1965) is a Romanian soprano, especially known for her performances in the operas of Puccini and Verdi, widely recognised by critics and opera lovers as one of the greatest sopranos of all time. Embarking h ...

, Thomas Allen,

Mstislav Rostropovich Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich, (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian cellist and conductor. He is considered by many to be the greatest cellist of the 20th century. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well ...

and

Roberto Alagna Roberto Alagna (; born 7 June 1963) is a French operatic tenor. He obtained French citizenship in 1981, while also retaining his previous Italian citizenship. Early years Alagna was born in Clichy-sous-Bois, outside the city of Paris, in 1963 t ...

Concert

The concert was the opening of the Golden Jubilee Weekend. In Buckingham Palace Garden, 12,000 guests each sat in their seats and ate a picnic dinner. They were provided with hampers packed with champagne, smoked salmon wrap,

Jubilee chicken Jubilee chicken can refer to one of several chicken dishes created to celebrate the jubilees of different British monarchs. Silver Jubilee chicken Jubilee chicken was created for the Silver Jubilee of George V in 1935, and was based on chicken dr ...

and strawberries and cream by the palace. The performances were done on a large stage constructed specially for the event. The performances were synchronized for ballet presentations inside of the Palace and broadcast to the crowds in the garden. The concert ended with " Pomp and Circumstance March No. 1", followed by the national anthem "

God Save the Queen "God Save the King" is the national and/or royal anthem of the United Kingdom, most of the Commonwealth realms, their territories, and the British Crown Dependencies. The author of the tune is unknown and it may originate in plainchant, bu ...

". At the end, the Queen stepped outside the palace to greet 40,000 people that were watching the event on widescreens in The Mall.

References

External links

amazon.com DVD listing for edited live recording of ''Prom at the Palace'' ISBN B000069B68
Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II Concerts in the United Kingdom Classical music in London British monarchy 2002 in British music 2002 in London Buckingham Palace June 2002 events in the United Kingdom {{music-event-stub

Event and venue

Performers

Concert

See also

References

External links